Before the Mask
by Miss Kristen Nicole
Summary: My version of Majora's Mask from everyone except Link's POV. The game left so many questions for us...the biggest one of all being the love triangle between Cremia, Kafei, and Anju. When Kafei learns of Cremia's feelings, who does he pick? T just in case.


**Summary:** Majora's Mask had a really great storyline. The problem was, you were Link, which meant that you were off fighting monsters in dungeons-and missing all the things that happened back in Clocktown! Well, this fanfic is _my_ take on all the drama that could've been going on while Link wasn't there-all the stuff that he didn't see.

I really hope you enjoy it! I will try to throw in more from the other characters as the story progresses.

If you like it, or even if you don't, please tell me what you think! I don't mind flames, but if you don't like my story, I'd like to know where I need to improve as a writer!

**Author's Note:** This story starts one week before Link appears, so the Skull Kid hasn't come yet, which means Milk Road is open, Woodfall isn't poisonous, Snowhead isn't frozen, ect! Most importantly, Kafei is still an adult!

**Chapter One: Breaking the Rules**

STOCK POT INN: KITCHEN

"Okay, food's done. Time to bring Granny her lunch." Anju placed a cup of coffee and some chicken soup on a tray to take into Granny's room. "Maybe I'll get her to eat something today. Goodness, if I could cook better, she wouldn't be so sick all the time!"

"There's nothing wrong with your cooking, Love. She's just too picky." Kafei said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Sometimes you're just too nice," Anju sighed, picking up the tray and walking down the hallway.

She heard the front door open and close.

"Hey, Anju! It's Cremia!" she called, hanging her jacket up.

"You'll have to hold on . . . I'm bringing Granny her lunch. Wait in the kitchen with Kafei-I'll be out in a few." she said.

"Mmm'kay," Cremia responded. She passed the stairs and walked around the corner into the kitchen.

"Cremia! What a nice surprise! I haven't seen you in quite some time," Kafei flashed her his trademark smile.

Cremia hesitantly proceeded into the room. "Yeah, seems like it's been forever . . ." she tried her best to sound happy to see him. Well, who was she kidding? Of course she was happy to see him. She was in love with him.

"So . . . how are things going with you and Anju?" she asked politely, as she sat down on the counter. "She and I had the most darling picnic the other day by the bay. The cake she made was delicious!" she chimed, knowing she couldn't keep this up much longer.

"Hey, how come you never come around anymore? I haven't seen you since . . . I don't know . . . maybe a couple weeks before the engagement?" Kafei asked.

"I'm just . . . busy, that's all. You know, with the ranch? I've been doing a lot of the work myself, because Romani refuses to. She just prances around with a bow all the time squealing 'they're coming!' and won't mind a word I say." Although this was true, that wasn't the only reason. Cremia prayed Kafei didn't see through it.

"Is that all?" Kafei sat next to her.

"Of course! What else would it be?" she was still smiling, but her eyes were glazed over.

"What's going on? Why have you been avoiding me?"

"What do you mean avoiding you? I told you, I've just been busy," she looked away.

"Is everything okay?" Kafei asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Cremia's body tensed, and she almost jumped. "Kafei . . . I . . . I won't be able to come to the wedding. I'm sorry, I've just got too much to do, and . . . I just can't."

Kafei frowned. "Have you talked to Anju about it? She wants you to be part of it! You're the Maid of Honor!"

"No, Anju doesn't know . . . not yet . . . I was hoping . . . you'd tell her . . . for me?" Cremia pleaded.

"Why? She's your best friend!"

"Kafei, I can't talk to her about it!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I can't!"

"Because why?!"

"Because she's marrying the man I'm in love with!" Cremia jumped up. "Oh God . . ."

"Cremia . . ." Kafei whispered.

"I did not just say that . . ." she backed off slowly, then turned to hurry off, but Kafei stopped her by grabbing her hand.

He pulled her back.

"Cremia, why didn't you tell me?" He looked into her eyes, as if searching for the answer. "It's too late now!"

"Kafei, what do you expect? I watched you two fall for each other. It wasn't my place to ruin that."

"You didn't ruin anything . . ." Kafei assured her. "I may be marrying Anju, but I fell for you first."

A tear ran down Cremia's face, and Kafei brushed it away.

"You can't be serious," she said quietly, looking to the floor.

Instead of answering her, he slowly lifted her chin and kissed her.

Cremia knew she should've stopped him, but she put her arms around his neck and lost herself in the moment.

STOCK POT INN: GRANNY'S ROOM

"Okay, Granny, here's your lunch!" Anju sat down the tray and rolled Granny over to the table at the foot of her bed. "I made your favorite, chicken soup!"

"Oh, thank you. I'll eat when I finish my book. I've only got a few pages left."

Anju's expression saddened a little. The book Granny was reading was her diary from just before Anju's father, Tortus, died. The only things Granny ever remembered about her life were the things written in that book. Sometimes Granny even asked Anju if she'd fed the baby yet. The baby she was talking about was the one standing in front of her. Every once in awhile she'd ask Anju if she could bring Tortus to her room to visit for awhile. On those rare occasions, it was all Anju could do to run out of the room crying, missing her dad horribly. Other times, Granny thought Anju was a complete stranger and accused her of trying to poison her with her food. Because of this, Granny didn't eat as often as needed, and was slowly growing sicker day by day.

"Okay, well, if you need anything else, or you finish your food, ring your bell," Anju patted Granny on the back, then walked towards the door.

STOCK POT INN: KITCHEN

Cremia finally pulled away. "This isn't right . . ." she trailed off.

"I know . . ." Kafei agreed.

Reluctantly, they both stepped back.

They heard the door to Granny's room open and shut.

"I swear that woman's going to kill herself one day . . . she just won't eat anything I give her," Anju complained as she entered the kitchen.

"Uhh . . . that reminds me . . . I don't think Romani's eaten today. I probably should go fix her something . . ." Cremia rushed out of the room. "Sorry guys. I'll see you later."

Cremia practically ran out the front door.

"Wow. What's with her today?" Anju leaned on Kafei's shoulder.

"I really don't know," Kafei said quietly, putting his arms around her. He didn't say much else-his mind was too filled with guilt for him to be coherent.

EAST CLOCKTOWN

Cremia collapsed as soon as she shut the front door to the inn.

"Hang on, Jim, I'll be right back," she heard Romani say from the roof. Romani jumped down.

"What's wrong, Cremia?" she asked as she walked up to her sister.

"Nothing, Romi. I'm just tired. We're going home now, so say goodbye to your friend."

"Oh, but we just got here!" Romani whined.

"I'm not in the mood for this, Romi. Come on! Let's go!"

"Fine," Romani gave in. "I'll see you later, Jim. Cremia says we're going home."

"Don't forget!" Jim called, giving her a thumb's up.

Romani did the same, and smiled as she and her sister walked through the south gate towards the ranch.

CREMIA & ROMANI'S BEDROOM

"Good night, Romi. I love you," she said, pulling the covers over her.

"G'nite, Sis. Love you too," she responded, and shut her eyes.

Cremia turned off the light and shut the door.

After she was sure her sister was downstairs, Romani turned on a flashlight and climbed out the window and onto the roof, then made her way down the ladder. She took a horse out of the stable, then quietly led it towards Milk Road. When she felt she was far enough away that Cremia wouldn't hear, she mounted the horse and commanded it to lightly trot towards town.

A few minutes later, she entered South Clocktown and tied the horse to the tree next to the Laundry Pool. Finally, she walked to North Clocktown.

"Romani!" Jim whispered, grabbing her wrists. "Shh, don't say anything. Follow me."

He walked towards the slide, then dropped to the ground. "Look around that corner. See that guy?"

"Yeah," Romani whispered back.

"That's Sakon. He's always trying to steal stuff from people."

"Wow! How do you know that?"

"I've seen him do it, that's how. He waits here every night in case someone comes through with something he can take. Jake says he sees Sakon take the stolen stuff to the Curiosity Shop a lot, but he usually leaves without selling anything, and just mumbles under his breath about prices being too low."

"So he really steals stuff, huh? Jim . . . I'm kinda scared . . . I don't wanna be this close to him . . ." Romani inched away from the corner.

"That's fine. Look, there's a fence behind that tree over there. We can lay down and watch so he doesn't see us."

"Okay," she responded, and they snuck over to the fence. Jim helped her climb it, then they ducked down.

"Jim, what do we do if he tries to steal something?"

"We should probably just hide. We aren't in the any position to be trying to fight him."

Silently, they waited for something to happen, and Romani accidently fell asleep.

EAST CLOCKTOWN

Kafei quietly closed and locked the front door to the Mayor's Residence. He had to talk to Cremia about what had happened before. Really, he just wanted to see her. But they still needed to talk about it.

He walked out the east gate, then ran around the town walls towards the Ranch.

CREMIA & ROMANI'S HOUSE

Cremia sat at the dinner table and sipped her cup of hot cocoa. "I can't believe I let that happen," she said to herself. "Kafei was right to say that Anju is my best friend, and here I am fooling around with her fiance just before her wedding day. Some friend I am."

There was a soft knock at the door.

'Oh dear. Who could it be at this hour?' Cremia walked to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Kafei."

Surprised, she unlocked the door. "Come in! I just got through tucking Romani in, and was drinking some hot cocoa. Would you like some?"

"That would be nice, thank you," Kafei sat down at the table.

Cremia poured him a cup.

"Cremia, we need to talk." Kafei addressed her as she joined him at the table.

"I know," she acknowledged, scooting herself in. After taking a drink, she added, "Well, what's there to say? I mean, we both know what happened, and we both know it was wrong. Why don't we just say it'll never happen again and be done with it?"

"Is that what you really want?" he asked, looking at her over his cup.

"That's my only option," she said, refilling her drink.

"I suppose so," he sighed.

"Well, what else is there to do? You can't break off the engagement. Not now. You said it yourself . . . it's far too late to be having those sort of thoughts."

"Not really . . . I mean, it would break Anju's heart, but I could still do it."

"No! Please don't say things you don't mean. I know you love her. And I could never do that to her . . . I couldn't be the reason you guys didn't work out. I couldn't live with myself."

"Listen, Cremia," Kafei started to say something.

"No, Kafei . . . you listen. Nothing can ever happen between us again, and Anju can never find out what happened in the first place. We have to put this behind us and just get over it, okay?"

"Cremia, if we love each other, why shouldn't we be together?"

"Because you already have someone else!" she cried, standing then running up the stairs.

Kafei put his cup down then got up to leave.

"Kafei! Kafei! Come here!" she shouted.

He, too, ran up the stairs.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Look! Romani's gone!" Cremia put her hands to her head. "Where could she be? I didn't see her leave . . ."

Kafei looked to the window. "The window's open!" he exclaimed.

Cremia walked over and shut it.

"I'm sure she's fine. Come on, let's go look for her."

She turned to him. "I can't believe she snuck out and I didn't notice! I'm so stupid . . ." she shook her head.

"No, you aren't," he assured her. "There's no way you could've found out. It's not like she walked right past you. Here, come with me. We'll search every corner of the ranch, and if she's not there, then we'll go to town."

"Okay," she let him take her by her hand and they walked down the stairs and out of the house.

NORTH CLOCKTOWN

"Romani, wake up!" Jim gently shook her.

"What . . . what is it?" she rolled over and yawned.

"Shh! We still gotta be quiet!"

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that," she rolled over.

"Check it out! A few gorons are coming in through the gate! They've got some huge bags with them. I bet they're tourists," Jim pointed out.

"Sakon can't take on a bunch of gorons, can he?" Romani asked.

"Heh, I don't think so. I'd like to see him try."

"Looks like he's gonna," Romani pointed in Sakon's direction. He was casually walking towards the Gorons, like nothing was about to happen. Then, all of a sudden, he knocked one over and ran off with the bag.

"Jim! He took it! He took it!" Romani grabbed his arm.

"Wow . . . they're just letting him get away with it . . ."

"Oh, now what? He took their stuff!"

"But there's nothing we can do about it!" Jim looked at Romani.

"Yeah there is . . . we can follow him! As soon as we see where he keeps everything he steals, we'll tell the Gorons where their stuff is and they can raid the place and get it all back!" Romani sat up.

"Romani, I don't know if that's such a good idea . . ." he reasoned.

"Sure it is! We'll be fine!" She assured him, pulling him up.

"I thought you were scared of this guy," he said.

"Well, I was. I was scared he'd try and take something from me. But now he's already stolen something from somebody else, and I got mad at him. Those Gorons need their stuff back!" Romani was already climbing over the fence.

"Wait! Let me help you," Jim said. He jumped the fence, then helped her down the other side.

As fast as they possibly could, the children ran through the North Gate after Sakon."

"I hope those two weren't chasing after that theif," one of the Gorons said.

"Yeah. I don't think either them or Sakon realize that there's a Powder Keg inside," another chuckled.

"Seriously, though! Those kids could get hurt!"

"Ah, well, that's not our fault or problem," the first assured them all.

The Gorons walked into East Clocktown, then went to sleep under the awning of the Stock Pot Inn.

NORTHERN TERMINA FIELD

"Jim, I wonder what's actually in that bag!" Romani squealed. "It could be jewels or something valuable like that!"

"Hmm . . . maybe . . ." Jim trailed off. "But I'm not thinking that whatever's in it is too important, considering the Gorons didn't even bother chasing after him. They didn't seem to be bothered that their bag was stolen in the first place."

Jim heard something.

"Wait! Listen!" He told Romani.

Romani stopped and listened.

"Do you hear that? It's a light ticking sound . . . I think it's coming from that bag," he observed.

"He stole a clock?!" Romani looked at Sakon with a funny expression.

"Sure sounds like it," Jim shrugged.

They followed him as he walked towards Ikana Canyon.

After about half an hour, they got to the outer edge of the canyon.

"Jim! How are we supposed to climb that wall?!" Romani shrieked.

"Don't worry. Didn't you see what Sakon did? All we have to do is climb it!"

"I don't think I can . . ." she was obviously disappointed.

"Go ahead and try! You can go first, and I'll wait till you're up there so I can catch you if you fall, okay?"

SOUTH CLOCKTOWN

"We're never going to find her! Oh, where could she be?" Cremia yawned.

"Here, let's start in the Laundy Pool Area," Kafei tried motivating her.

"Okay . . ." she agreed.

They walked to the Laundry Pool.

"That's my horse!" Cremia exclaimed at the sight of Sugar. "Well, really, it's Romani's horse . . ." she explained.

"Great! That means Romani's safe, because she's here in town," Kafei observed.

"Oh thank God," she sighed, "alright, let's try West Clocktown."

IKANA CANYON

The two continued to follow Sakon, hiding behind every rock, corner, and tree they could find.

"Wow, listen-the clock's ticking faster now than it was before," Romani mused.

"Ticking _faster_?" he questioned. Romani was right. It grew even faster as the two of them sat in silence.

Jim's expression became horrified when he realized what was going on.

"Romani! It isn't a clock! That's a Powder Keg!" he exclaimed. He pulled Romani in the opposite direction. "We gotta get out of here! That thing could blow any minute!"

As quickly as they possibly could, the two ran back towards the town.

WEST CLOCKTOWN

Romani was nowhere to be seen, but Cremia spotted Jake. She remembered what had happened earlier.

"Jake! Quick, where can I find Jim?" Cremia asked as sweetly as possible.

"Well, he usually hangs out in North Clocktown shooting at some red balloon with a tiny guy hangin' off of it."

"Thank you so much!" she said and they hurried to North Clocktown.

NORTH CLOCKTOWN

Romani and Jim stumbled through the north gate.

"We're so lucky you knew that was a bomb," Romani pointed out, hugging Jim. "I could've got us killed!" she exclaimed.

"Well, we're just fine, aren't we?" he asked.

"That's . . . not the point . . ." she sighed.

"Really, it's okay," Jim assured her. "You did the right thing. It's not your fault; we didn't know that the Gorons were setting him up!" Jim hugged her tighter.

After a moment of silence, Romani looked up at Jim and frowned. "Do you think _Sakon_ figured it out?"

"I haven't the slightest clue," he said. He paused for a moment.

Romani yawned.

"I think we need to find you somewhere to sleep," he said, letting go of her and taking her hand.

"Sounds good. Let's go to the inn."

"We can't-it's locked right now since it's so late," Jim reminded her.

"Oh. True. Then where can we go?" she asked. She nearly collapsed-she was so tired, it was hard for her to stand up-and Jim had to grab her before she hit the ground.

"Let's go lay down in the tall grass by the slide," he suggested.

"Okay," she agreed.

Jim had to support her weight as they slowly walked over.

"Alright," he said, lying her down in the soft grass.

"It's . . . cold . . ." she murmured, barely audible.

Not knowing what else to do, Jim pulled her to himself. "I'll keep you warm-just please go to sleep."

"Will do," she smiled and nodded, her eyes already closed.

Jim looked at her once more, then fell asleep moments later.

NORTH CLOCKTOWN

Cremia and Kafei walked into North Clocktown.

"Look!" Kafei exclaimed, pointing near the slide.

Cremia followed his gaze, and saw her little sister asleep next to Jim.

"ROMANI!" she hissed.

"Shh!" he covered her mouth. "At least let her sleep-you know she's okay, so just wait till tomorrow."

She sighed. "You're right."

"Now what?" he asked after a moment.

"Actually, I'm pretty tired myself . . ." she said.

"Okay. Here, I've got keys to the inn. We can use them to get inside, and I'll put you in one of the rooms." Kafei offered.

"Would . . . would Anju mind?" she hesitated.

"Of course not! In fact, I'm sure she'd be thrilled to wake up and see that you're here!" he thought for a second. "She's missed you too, you know."

Cremia sighed again, looking away from his eyes.

"Come on, it's cold," he said.

"But I can't just leave her-"

"We'll take both of them, don't worry!" Kafei picked up Jim, and Cremia picked up her sister.

EAST CLOCKTOWN

Kafei unlocked the front door, then the two of them walked up the stairs to the last room in the hallway and put both children in bed.

Quietly, they left the room and shut the door.

"Here, why don't you sleep in the other room?" he suggested, motioning towards the middle door.

"That will do fine . . . thank you, Kafei," she looked into his eyes. It took everything she had to keep herself from breaking down. She still wanted to be his, yet she still knew it wasn't possible.

"Don't mention it," he whispered, leading her to her bed.

Kafei pulled the covers over her, then walked out.

Almost instantly after shutting the door, he heard what he thought sounded like crying.

He reopened the door and saw Cremia hugging her pillow, shaking from all the sobs.

"Cremia . . . !" he went over to the bed and stroked her hair. "What is it?"

'Well, I'm in love with my best friend who is already engaged . . . and I'm a horrible sister . . .' she thought.

"I can't believe I let that happen! How could I have missed her sneaking out? That's terrible! I should've figured it out!"

Kafei sighed. "Don't worry about it! For one, she was way upstairs, and I'm sure nobody would've been able to hear her sneak out from the kitchen. And, another thing, maybe she's just really good at sneaking."

"I guess that makes sense," she said quietly.

Kafei hugged her to him. "Don't punish yourself. She didn't die or anything, she's just fine. She's in the next room over with her best friend. You haven't done anything wrong."

"If you say so," she responded, but she wasn't convinced.

After that, neither of them said a word.

Kafei slowly rocked her back and forth until she stopped crying and eventually fell asleep.

STOCK POT INN

'Okay, guess I'd better go fix up the rooms before we open up today,' Anju thought as she washed her dishes from the breakfast she had just eaten.

Tired, she walked up the stairs and started at the room at the end of the hallway.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when she got in. 'Wow, Romani and Jim? What are they doing here?' she wondered.

She silently went back into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

'Wait . . . if Romani's here, then I bet . . . !' she smiled.

Hoping to find Cremia, she opened the middle door.

She couldn't believe what she saw.

Sadness, emptyness, betrayal, heartbreak . . . they flooded her mind all at once.

Lying in that bed was her best friend . . . in the arms of her fiance.


End file.
